Air Warfare

Biden orders forces to Baltics, warns Russia plans further invasion of Ukraine

Among the assets moving to the Baltics are F-35s and AH-64 Apache helicopters.

By Aaron Mehta and Valerie Insinna on February 22, 2022 3:52 pm
Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) attends a ceremony to sign documents, including a decree recognizing two Russian-backed breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine. (ALEXEY NIKOLSKY/Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images)

Updated on 2/22/22 at 4:10 pm with additional information about the sanctions ordered by Biden. 

WASHINGTON: Warning that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to send troops to Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk regions is the beginning of a larger invasion, US President Joe Biden today announced a series of sanctions against Russia while ordering US forces to move closer to NATO’s eastern flank.

During remarks at the White House, Biden announced sanctions aimed at two major financial institutions — Russia’s VEB bank and Promsvyazbank, its military bank — as well as imposing sanctions on Russian sovereign debt. Further sanctions on Russian elites and their families will be announced tomorrow.

Biden also announced that some US troops and equipment already deployed to Europe would move to Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia in order to deter any threat Russia could pose to the three NATO nations.

Those movements, according to a senior defense official, include:

  • An infantry battalion task force of approximately 800 troops from Italy to the Baltic region
  • Up to eight F-35s from Germany to the Baltic region
  • A battalion of 20 AH-64 Apache attack helicopters from Germany to the Baltic area
  • An aviation task force of  12 AH-64 Apache attack helicopters from Greece to Poland

A European source told Breaking Defense that it is expected that air assets will be sent to Estonia, with ground forces likely for Latvia and Lithuania. Shortly after Biden’s speech, Estonia’s defense minister issued a statement in Estonian saying air defense assets are expected — potentially a sign that the F-35s will be based there.

The announcement of sanctions comes a day after Putin delivered a speech on recognizing the independence of Donetsk and Luhansk and further announced plans to deploy Russian troops to the region for so-called “peacemaking” operations. Earlier today, Putin received approval from Russia’s upper house of parliament to begin moving troops into the territory, which is currently controlled by Russian-backed separatists.

Biden responded that Putin’s speech essentially “[carves] out a big chunk of Ukraine” and “attacked Ukraine’s right to exist,” thereby setting up Russia’s rationale to take even more territory by force.

“Who in the Lord’s name this gives him the right to declare new so-called countries on territory that belong to his neighbors?” Biden said. “This is a flagrant violation of international law and demands firm response from the international community.”

Today’s sanctions target the VEB, Russia’s fifth largest financial firm and a “glorified piggy bank for the Kremlin that holds more than $50 billion in assets,” and the $35 billion Promsvyazbank, which finances the activities of the Russian military, a senior administration official said in a phone call with reporters. Those banks are no longer able to do business with American and European financial organizations, and their assets in those financial systems have been frozen, the official said.

While the first wave of sanctions announced by Biden do not expressly target Russia’s defense industry, it is expected that following sets of sanctions will aim to make the import of critical components nearly impossible for Moscow’s domestic weapons firms.

Over the last two months Breaking Defense has published a number of stories and opinion pieces about the Ukrainian situation. Here is a selection: